How often have you stuck with the same dentist, bank, mechanic, or other provider because the thought of switching things up seemed more stressful or difficult than settling for the same okay-ish service you’ve been getting?What about your financial advisor? Or your insurance provider? These key consultants can do so much to help your business grow and thrive.

Or so very little.

If you’ve been rationalizing your decision to stay with your employee benefits broker, it’s time to get over the fear and drop the excuses.

Your job is becoming increasingly challenging

Not to mention critical. As an employer, you have unbelievable responsibilities:

You have to help make decisions about your benefit program.

You have to communicate details (and value!) to your employees.

It’s your responsibility to attract/retain those employees.

Often, it’s also your job to keep them engaged and productive.

Plus, you have an ever-increasing list of compliance issues to deal with.

It’s enough to overwhelm even the most seasoned CEO, business owner, or HR professional.

Deep down, you know there has to be a better way. You KNOW there has to be someone out there who can help make your responsibilities more manageable, your employees happier, and your business more efficient and profitable.

Maybe you start thinking about all of those “value-added services” your current broker promised, and then it hits you: They haven’t actually delivered on the value they promised.

You’re not imagining things

There is a pattern. Lots of brokers out there are setting the performance bar really low. They want you to be satisfied with less steep increases. Or better yet, thrilled with the status quo. They promise to be more proactive, but then you don’t hear from them until it’s renewal time.

And yet you probably have a few knee-jerk excuses for staying the course. Perhaps you’ve found yourself thinking, “I’d like to change brokers, but…”

I don’t want to rock the boat.

I’d feel guilty firing my current broker.

It would take too much effort to get buy-in.

I’m so busy with renewal I don’t have time to think about anything else.

I don’t want to waste a bunch of time researching who else might be out there.

All insurance people are the same, anyway.

Your hesitations are understandable. You’re working to do more with less every day. Who has time to even look around, much less commit to one more meeting?

But at the end of the day, you can’t afford not to be working with the right employee benefits partner.

It has never been more difficult to create success through your HR/benefit program. And it has never been more critical for you to find the right broker partner to help you achieve the predictable success/results your business needs.

There are better brokers out there

And once you start working with one of them, you’ll never want to go back.

The wrong broker:

Walks in assuming they know what you need

Wants to give you a free quote

Shows you a fancy spreadsheet

Brags about relationships with insurance carriers

Offers you a set list of “free” services you may not even need

Thinks one year at a time

Doesn’t tell you how they get paid

The right broker:

Asks a ton of questions

Creates strategy for your HR/benefit programs

Offers creative benefits packages instead of one-size-fits-all plans

Looks for ways to have a positive financial impact on your business operations

Wants to make your life easier by streamlining HR administration and processes

Helps you recruit and retain employees and become an employer of choice

Is committed to making sure you’re in compliance

Thinks long-term and sees the big picture

Offers complete transparency with regard to compensation

If your broker isn’t the right one, it’s time to toss out the excuses and start expecting more.

Maybe you don’t need to change brokers. Maybe you just need to tell them you want to move beyond finding a policy and develop a true business partnership that will help you achieve the goals above. Invite your broker, and any others you might want to consider, to come in off-renewal to talk about ways to accomplish your critical goals and milestones.

If your current broker hesitates, takes off running, or makes excuses of their own, you’ll have your answer. It’s time to establish a new normal.

Tired of working with insurance salespeople who only think one year at a time? Wonder what it would be like to have a broker who looks beyond your annual policy? At Raffa Financial, we’ll provide a corporate employee benefits strategy to help you achieve your long-term your vision. Get in touch to find out how.